Amalgam mixer



Sept. 16 1924.

l G. E. gmx' AMALGAM MIXER Filed March l5. V323 s@ mi @L Patented Sept.. i6, i924.

GEORGE E. COX, OF \I]IlV.[II\TGTON, DELAWARE.

AMALGAIVI MIXER. l

Application filed March 15, 1923.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. Cox, a citizen of the United States, residing at lTl/'ilmingtom in the county of New Castle and lState of Delaware, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Amalgam Mixers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This invention relates to a device for mix ing amalgam particularly the amalgam made of dental alloy and mercury.

The object of the present invention is to provide a simple and etlicient amalgam mixer requiring but a few seconds to thorn oughly mix the amalgam and from which the capsule may be readily removed for filling and discharging. A further object of the present invention lies in the provision of an amalgam capsule holder which may be attached to any of the usual low priced vibrators now on the market.

There are in common use, at the present time, a number of amalgam mixers and one or two of these devices are quite satisfactory in operation requiring even less than a minute to mix the amalgam and costing but $50 or so, but each of these devices is a separate unit and is made in such form that the motor can not be disassociated for other' uses. It has also been proposed to build amalgam mixers to be attached in some way to a dental engine but as far as I know none of these has ever proven satisfactory in practice. p

In the present invention the amalgam mixer is in the nature of a simple and Very inexpensive .attachment to a vibrator of the now common types so that the complete equipment including the amalgam holder can be marketed for a small fraction of the cost of the now existing satisfactory types.

In the drawings zq Figure l is a side view of my device as it appears attached to a vibrator of the polar cab type.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation (partly broken away) on a larger scale, showing the vibrator cup, capsule and holder.

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the parts shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section through the capsule.

In Figure l, lO is a vibrator motor struc- Serial No. 625,377.

ture of the polar cab type in which thear- -mature shaft 1l revolves inthe usual wayV about a fixed axis and carries at one end an eccentric l12 coupled to a gyrating shaft l5 which has its stationary point within the ball joint' 16. The free end of thegyrating shaft l5 is internally threaded to receive the .screw end 20 of the vibrator cup 21 consistmg of a cup shapedpiece of relatively soft rubber 22 and the metal attachment end '23 usually integral with the screw 20. The parts so far described are old and well known and save in combination `with other parts to be described form no part of the present invention. i

My preferred formof amalgam mixing the tube and I closefthe capsule 29 also cfs rubber and having its inner face 30 beveled to correspond with the slope of the face 27.

It is highly convenient to place in the mixer a plurality of steel balls 81 preferably twoin number in order to insure rapid and thorough trituration of the material. The usual quantity of amalgam required .is about the size of a pea and consists generally in say one part of mercury to two parts of dental alloy. It is obvious that the steel y balls are lnot essential but at the same time since mercury is incorporated with dental amalgam very much better as well as more quickly by a rubbing action than by a shaking action the great advantage of the balls is apparent. I

I iind in actual practice that it takes only one-,fifth as long to mix thoroughly the amalgam when .using the balls as it does when the balls are not used. The purpose of the slanting faces 27 and 30 is to cause the balls to revolve as well as to shake thus hastening materially the mixing. The stoppers are not necessarily of rubber but this material is very satisfactory as the amalgam' will not stick to lit and does stick, at least to a slight extent, to such materials as cork. The holder for the capsule 25 may be of any desired typeso that the capsule may be quickly and easily secured and detached. A preferred form of such holder is awire coil p 33 secured at either end to diametrically opposite points near the peripheral margin 34 of the vibrator cup 22. It seems to be immaterial Whether' the means 36 for securing the ends of the Wire 37 to the rubber vibrator cup t tightly the edge of the cup or allow a slight play but they should be so fastened as to prevent the axis of the coil 33 rising as high as the axis of the screw 2O and cup 22 since I find that the amalgam is much more thoroughly mixed if the axis of the coil and therefore of the capsule is inaterially to one side of the axis of the vibrating shaft and is arranged at right angles thereto as I thereby secure a transmission of the vibration in a vertical as Well as a horizontal direction and apparently secure a materially increased mixing force over that Which I Would secure if the axis of the capsule passed through the axis of the vibrator cup and shaft.

In the foregoing description I have shown the invention very much in detail but desire it to be distinctly understood that the invention is not so limited and that While a gyrating shaft Vibrator is illustrated any other form of Vibrator may be used except in so far as the claims themselves are limited to a gyrating motion and that the dimensions of the parts are descriptive merely.

I claim I l. In combination, a gyrating shaft, a flexible support at one end Aof said shaft, an amalgam mixing capsule and a holder adapted to detachably secure said capsule to said flexible support so as to position said capsule entirely to one side of the axis of the gyrating shaft.

2. An amalgam capsule holder comprising a rubber vibrator cup, and a coil supported near the rim of said cup With its axis at a right angle to the axis of the cup.

8. An amalgam capsule holder comprising a rubber vibrator cup and a coil supported near the rim of said cup With its axis at a right angle to the axis of the cup, said coil lying entirely to one side of the axis of the cup.

a. In combination, a flexible vibrator cup, a tubular amalgam mixing capsule, and means secured to said cup at diametrically opposite points near the rim thereof for detachably holding said capsule.

5. In combination, a tubular amalgam mixing capsule, a plurality of balls therein, an end closure having an inner beveled face, a gyrating shaft, and means for flexibly and detachably securing said capsule to saipl shaft.

6. In combination, a tubular amalgam mixing capsule, a plurality of balls therein, an end closure for each end of said capsule each having an inner beveled face, a gyrating shaft, and means for flexibly and detachably securing said capsule to said shaft with its axis at right angles and spaced from the axis of the gyrating shaft.

GEORGE E. CUX. 

